Witchy Wonderland

"Did he?" I glean down at her, running my fingers through her hair and down her cheek before leaning down to kiss her forehead. My touch trembles before leaving her, looking up to the man with a grateful smile.

Raefiya slips behind me and into the house, the door creaking as it hangs heavily on its hinges. Stepping forward quietly, I reach up to take his face in my hands, holding it firmly as I look at him seriously.

"You shouldn't," I respond, shaking my head slightly as I reach up to pull her hands from my face - my touch gentle, but insistent as I take a small step backward. Clearing my throat, I rub a self-conscious hand over my cheek before frowning at her slightly.

"You must forgive my - 'friend,'" I sigh, hesitating on the last word. "He's spent too much time in Novigrad, I'm afraid. He doesn't quite know what it means to live anywhere except under the Temple's order. He thinks himself pragmatic in unerringly doing his job here, but I fear he's blind to what wrath will befall him when he seeks to assert himself where he's not wanted or needed. He had no business troubling you or your kin."

"It'll be a lesson learned for us all," I say quietly, glancing back to the house where lights have begun to glow from within the children's bedroom. "Things get too quiet, too comfortable, and we- We forget where we are."

"It is an unfortunate reality in the world we live in," I agree with a slight bow as I start to step back toward the gate. "Once again, I am sorry for your ordeal. If there's nothing else I can do for you, I'll leave you to your evening."

"Wait," I call softly, reaching out to gesture him back towards me. "I have something for you."

Stepping back through the open door, I grab up the wooden carving and turn to face him. "Hecate," I start to explain, looking down at the carving as he takes it hesitantly. "Goddess and mother of magic, the moon... Other things." I shrug as I trail off, grinning slightly. "She's a token of protection and power, and a gift for you."

"Oh," I breathe slightly, turning the carving over in my hands curiously before I look up at her hesitantly. "It's - lovely. But, uhm... you do know that I'm a hunter, right..?" I ask uncertainly. "I'm not sure Hecate would care much for me."

"Indeed," I concede with a slight smile as I tuck the figure safely into my bag. Hesitating for a moment, I glance at her and then pull a small square of heavy parchment from the pocket sewn into the side of the bag. "Here. Should Emhyr appear again trying to cause a fuss, I can be found there most evenings from mid-afternoon until the hour before sunset."

The paper in my hand is stiff and rough as I hold it clumsily between my fingers trying to read it. The breeze cutting through the alley makes it difficult to hold the paper still, and the infant wiggling in the sling across my front doesn't help either.

"Mum, where are we going?" Rae asks nervously, still lingering near the edge of the alley as she peers off towards our neighborhood. "Are we gonna go back to the shops? I'm tired." She whines, pacing across the cobbles back towards me as she reaches up to pat at Evander's back.

"Shh, muffin," I hush her softly, holding the paper against the wall as I manage to smooth it enough to read. Crow's Inn, eastern edge of town. I don't read any further before tucking it back into the bag hanging on my other hip before reaching out to take Raefiya's hand in mine and setting off with the sun at my back.

***

Venturing further from the familiar area of the city, my grip on Rae's hand tightens as we maneuver through the busier cobblestone streets. Rae's hurried steps practically skip behind me as she hangs heavily from my hand. There's a sign several yards off, it's chains rattling as the heavy wooden crow swings dully in the wind. The Crow's Perch.

The moment I make it through the door, I'm met with the loud bustle of the tavern, Evander shifting and stirring against my front as I hold Raefiya and my bag close to my sides. Even with my jewels and charms tucked inside of my shirt collar and Rae stripped of her own jewels and baubles, I can't shake the unsteady feeling that we stick out in this area of the city. Families aren't common sights for the inns nearer the ports and city centers, instead they're usually reserved for traveling tradesmen and hunters.

Once I hit the bar, I pull Raefiya to stand between me and the worn wooden bartop, craning my head to look for the barhand.

"We don't serve kids," A weathered but attractive woman states as she steps over to address me, glancing at Rae and her brother before looking back to me curiously. "Sure you ain't lookin' for a room here?"

"Not a room, a person," I say over the din of the bar, the crowded and loud nature of the environment not what I'd have expected for the man who'd given me the parchment just a week before. "Uhm, hold on, I have this-" I continue, digging into my bag as I pull out the parchment and unfold it on the bar, pointing at the man's name as I look up at her expectantly. "Can you direct me to him?"

"Oi!" the man across from me shouts as I laugh and scoop the sizable pile of coins and various trinkets toward me. "Ye're fuckin' cheating, ya bastard!" I can only grin as he throws his cards angrily on the table, his mug of ale sloshing onto the wood as his elbow hits it.

"Don't be a sore loser, Lib'," I grin as I make a circular gesture toward our barmaid, signaling her for another round. "This one's on me. Care to play another round? Try to win back your pride?"

The others at the table nod their enthusiasm, mugs sloshing as they drink the last dregs down before the other round comes. Meanwhile, I begin the arduous task of gathering my cards back into my hand without letting the mess of drinks and food stain them. Lib' is clearly on his last legs, his large body swaying in his seat as he extends far more focus than it should take for him to situate his own cards. I can't help but grin at that, my gaze lingering on the expensive blade on his hip. One game closer to coaxing him into recklessly betting it against my deck - a deck he's not once managed to beat in all the months we've known one another.

As I watch him thoughtfully, a familiar face catches my eye near the bar, and my smile disappears. Cursing under my breath, I frown at Ylva as she spots me, my posture stiffening only slightly as I carry on shuffling my deck and trying to pay half my attention to the gin soaked words coming from the woman beside me.

Turning as the barmaid points me towards a table back in the corner, I spot Solas almost as soon as he spots me. Frowning sharply, I turn back to the woman and thank her quickly before digging into my pocket for some coin to drop on the bar before grabbing Rae's arm and guiding her to walk ahead of me.

The looks we receive as we meander through the crowd leaves a humiliating knot to form in my stomach, threatened only by the sense of anxiety as Raefiya catches the gazes of several patrons as we pass by. This was a mistake, I think as we get closer to Solas's table, stopping in my tracks as I pull Rae back against me as a particularly boisterous woman slides back from the table roughly before getting unsteadily to her feet and wandering off.

"Play this round without me," I say over the din of laughter as my companions natter amongst themselves, my words drawing a loud, "Boo!" as I offer them an apologetic smile and pocket my cards just as Hylda tries to reach over to grab them from the table. "Nobody take that sword! I'll win it yet, mark my words!"

"Over my dead, smelly corpse!" Lib' shouts as he downs more alcohol than I could rightly put away in one sitting.

"How'll we know if the stinkin' thing is dead or just passed out?" Hylda chides with a boisterous laugh as I try my best to squeeze out past the drunken woman. Her short legs come up as she stands on her chair to shake her fist at Lib's quick threats of violence, her arm nearly knocking me off my feet as a string of curses flies from her lips.

I offer Ylva an apologetic grimace as I squeeze behind Hylda's chair, managing to free myself from the table just as a mug of ale flies at Lib's head. I'm a little unsteady on my own feet as I reach out to put a gentle hand on the frazzled woman's arm, gesturing her toward the door leading out to the patio.

Solas's hand guides me ahead of him towards a door near the back end of the bar, my own hands guiding Rae along as she reaches up to push it open and head out. I'm grateful for the considerably more quiet environment as the door shuts behind Solas, though it's broken by the suddenly more noticeable cries of the infant hanging across my chest.

"I'm sorry," I start as I turn to face him, my nerves coming through in my words. "I must seem so desparate, coming here, but-" I stop, shifting the bag from my shoulder and handing it to Raefiya before looping my arms around Evander and bouncing him anxiously. "We were at the shops, and when we got back to our street, your 'friend' was standing in my front garden." I explain, the infant quieting slightly as he gets a handful of my hair to his mouth. A pastime of his I've been trying to discourage, but at the moment I could care less if it quiets him.

"I normally wouldn't be so bothered by it, I've encountered your sort before but never with-" I hesitate, my voice softening as I glance back at Rae and then to Evander. "I had this bad feeling about it and I got scared."

I curse sharply under my breath, my cheeks already flushed from the alcohol as I glance back at her and her children sheepishly. "Sorry," I say quickly, oblivious to the fact that my curse is not in her native tongue and was likely not understood. I find myself staring at the fussing bundle in her arms before I find the wherewithal to pull my focus back to the present.

"No, you were right to be concerned," I sigh as I nod for her to follow me toward the stables. "Emhyr is a damned fool. I fear this is partly my fault. I had hoped he would drop it, and leave you be. Clearly, I was mistaken, and I must speak to him more directly. He'll no doubt still be waiting at your house. We'll go, and I'll put this to bed for good."

"I can't thank you enough," I let out with a heavy sigh of relief, gesturing back to Raefiya as I call for her to walk behind me.

"I don't fully understand, even, why you're willing to help, but-" I shake my head as we trail behind him, looking down at Evander as he entertains himself with my hair and the hem of his own dress, "We're grateful."

"And there's the whole issue in a nutshell," I grumble as I fix Etrielle's reigns before offering a hand to help get her up onto her back. "Let's just say I don't always agree with my fellow hunters. But a job is a job, and if I can lessen some of the threats in the world in the process, so be it."

"Depends on the witch," I reply lightly as I climb up after them. It takes an awkward moment for all of us to situate on Etrielle's back, but thankfully, she's no dainty pony and she hardly seems to notice the added passengers as I coax her toward the street.

"I like to think I have a good intuition about me," I shrug as I glance back over my shoulder toward her. "And I don't get the sense you're much of a threat. Though, I do believe you could be if you so chose."

"That could be said of anyone," I respond, looking down at Rae as she peers around the street curiously and pets the horse's back just beneath her leg. Craning my neck down, I guide her hands back up towards Solas's waist, coaxing her fingers to hold onto the loose fabric there.

"Hold on, love, you always hold on." I instruct quietly, Rae nodding an understanding as she adjusts her grip several times before settling.